Razor's Ring DVD review

Review:

A film that promises murderers, rapists and modern-day cannibals is sure to catch the eye of any self-respecting horror fan. A shame then that Morgan Hampton’s Razor’s Ring promises far more that it delivers.

When businessman Scott takes a jog in the countryside, he doesn’t bank on being kidnapped by all-round bad eggs, Razor and Julie. Forcing him into their car at gunpoint, he’s taken on a sadistic joy ride and witnesses them scoring points with each other for running over animals and pedestrians.

When Razor takes out an old man picnicking with his family, he chose the wrong target as he was kin to the aforementioned cannibals. A classic case of “wrong place at the wrong time” sees Scott and his kidnappers bundled off to spend time imprisoned by and tortured at the hands of the family under the direction of sinister matriarch, Red.

It’s not that Razor’s Ring is a terrible film, it just tries to do too much with its limited resources. The story is slightly off a well-trodden path and it’s easy to draw parallels with the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for its theme of incarceration by a cannibalistic family. In an attempt to use tension rather than cheap gore for shocks, most of the film revolves around the unknown of what happens to each prisoner when they’re taken from the confines of the tool shed they spend their time locked in.

But to build tension like this requires real rock-solid acting to draw the viewer in and keep them hooked. Razor’s Ring, unfortunately, is not blessed with anything approaching a competent cast so the effect of any tension on the story is lost. Mix this with some really poor pacing caused by over editing (shed, landscape, shed, landscape, shed, land… OK I GET IT, THEY’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.) and it makes Razor’s Ring a real chore to sit through. A film that clocks in at just over 80 minutes should not have you reaching for the remote to see how long’s left.

The makers of this film have clearly tried to make something a little bit different, something that goes away from the trend of indie-movies going all out on gore or overblown characterisation, but in the end this razor just isn’t sharp enough.

Video and Audio:

Video is as expected from the digital source. It's a little washed out but that's to be expected. Audio is English 2.0, which is nothing less than ordinary. In a few scenes the dialogue is really difficult to hear when the actor delivering the lines is facing away from the camera. The musical score is irritatingly mundane.

Fuelled mostly by coffee and a pathological desire to rid the world of bad grammar, Daniel has found his calling by picking holes in other people's work. In the rare instances he's not editing, he's usually breaking things in the site's back end.